The Warmth of the Fire
by mjuzz
Summary: Where there are storms, there is usually destruction but destruction may not always be a bad thing especially if it's hate that you destroy.


**Chapter 1**

_**Getting through the storm**_

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Miss Rowling does.

A/N: I have revisited "The Warmth of the Fire" and I have decided to reinvent it. I'm thinking about changing its title but that is still a thought. Well, some things will be definitely changing in here though. I reread all of its chapters and I felt like it needed a lot of work. I realized I really wrote corny stuff back then so I want to keep the corny stuff minimal this time. Well, I hope you like the changes. :)

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People say that when it rains, it pours and the magical world wasn't an exception. Witches and wizards can do a whole lot of magic but not exactly to stop storms. Everyone was already tucked in their beds when the storm began and like everybody else, Hermione Granger was too. In her new room in the Heads' Dorm, she struggled under her blanket. Apparently, she left her window open making the cold wind freely waltz into her room. Worse, she chose the wrong night to wear only a tank top and pajamas to bed earlier. She was half-asleep and couldn't get back to dreaming because of the thunder including the blinding lightning outside.

She finally got up and closed the window but that didn't really do the job. She then took her night robes and went out of her room. She thought it would be the best time to put the fireplace in the common room to good use. _Maybe, I'll go sleep in the couch,_ she thought. But when she reached the common room, _Oh great, I'll never get to sleep;_ she looked up and closed her eyes as she realized she wasn't exactly alone in the Heads' dorm.

_At least he didn't hog the couch to himself._ She lied on the couch and shut her eyes.

"Are you not used to having to sleep in a proper bed, Granger? You Mudbloods are so unfortunate."

"Leave me alone, ferret. I just want to get some shut eye."

"Feisty, eh? Just like this freaking storm."

"I'll never get any sleep if you keep talking, Malfoy. Why don't you get back to bed yourself and quit bothering me?"

"I'd rather enjoy the fireplace. It's awfully chilly, you know? I'm not amphibian like you are."

"God, I swear I don't have time for your insults, you insufferable ferret."

She stood up and walked to her room but as she opened her door she realized, it's still freezing in there.

"Cold? I don't usually share but it is _your_ fireplace, too."

She rolled her eyes and went back inside. She took her ipod, a book and her blanket with her and went back to the common room._ Tolerate it, Hermione._

She sat in front of the fireplace and shoved in her earphones. She was a considerable distance from Malfoy. Hermione who was wrapped in her blanket comfortably read her book shutting out the possibility of any more interruption from her companion. Besides, she wasn't interested in bickering with him at this hour of the day. But the ignorant wizard was persistent in his goal of annoying the Head Girl.

"Oi, Granger. Don't you ever get sick of studying?" He waited for her to answer back as he wasn't aware that she couldn't hear a syllable he said.

"Pretending you can't hear me, eh? Let's see about that." He moved closer to her and snatched the book from her. And, of course, this got her attention and pissed her off the more.

"Hey! What the hell is your problem, Malfoy?" she said as she took off her earphones.

"I won't be ignored just like that by a mere Mud-" he sniggered.

"I didn't hear you okay! What is it that you want?! Will you please give me back my book?"

Draco struggled to get the book away from her and she tried her best to get it from him. They were practically playing tag around the common room like children. Minutes later both were already getting tired from the chase. He hid her book at his back and Hermione was persistent to taking it. They were now almost in an awkward hug. Both didn't even care that their bodies were so close together. The struggle ended as Hermione recovered her book from the thief. But before she got away from the perpetrator, Malfoy whispered in her ear, "Gotcha."

Shocked would be an understatement to how she felt that moment. The way his warm breath lingered on her neck confused her. It was as if, time had stopped and reversed the world for a moment. She was flustered and ran back to her room. All strength was stripped from her as she sat on her bedroom floor. _What the hell?_

Malfoy smirked as Hermione ran back to her room. "Told you I won't be ignored" he whispered to himself. He returned to where he sat at the fireplace a while ago but before he could sit down, he noticed Hermione left her muggle contraption and blanket behind. He took the blanket and her ipod. He inspected the ipod which fascinated him since he didn't know how it worked. "So you won't be able to hear anything with this thing? Fascinating contraption.." he said with a childlike wonder.

He knocked on her bedroom door but no one answered. He waited for a while but when there was still no response, he decided she may have already gone back to bed and would return her stuff in the morning. He went back to his room and went back to sleep.

Inside, Hermione wasn't really asleep. By the time she remembered she left her blanket and ipod in the common room and went to get it, before she could even turn the knob, someone was knocking on her door. Well, who else could it have been but Malfoy. She was undeniably embarrassed and didn't want to open the door. She waited for a while before she went to look for her stuff in the common room but they weren't there anymore. _Dammit, Malfoy took my ipod._

Pissed as she was, Hermione was still at a loss for words from the episode a while ago. She forgot the cold from the confusion Malfoy's lingering breath on her ears had brought that night.

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A/N: After a long time, I have finally reinvented this fanfic. I'm quite happy with it now that I had a chance to get rid of all those cheesy stuff I wrote before. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed rewriting it. Thank you everyone!


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